The disclosed embodiments relate to a method for displaying the operation states of modules included in a computer system, and more specifically, they relate to a method for, in a system including a computer and a storage device, displaying the operation states of modules which are pieces of dedicated software and modules which are pieces of general-purpose software or hardware.
As the scale of computer systems increases, in some cases, systems are configured by combining a plurality of modules dedicated to the systems and a plurality of general-purpose modules. In such a large-scale system, there is a case where system management is performed from different viewpoints that are a viewpoint of an end user and a viewpoint of a professional engineer. In other words, the end user performs management in such a manner as to focus on whether the system correctly operates as a whole, and the professional engineer performs management in such a manner as to also check, in detail, whether the state of each of the modules is a normal state. Here, it is supposed that the modules are not only hardware (H/W) modules, such as an HDD or an HBA, but also software (S/W) modules, such as processes for causing the system to operate.
In order to realize management from these two viewpoints, in a large-scale system, typically, management tools are separately prepared. In other words, two separate tools, i.e., an end-user-oriented management tool and a professional-engineer-oriented management tool, are present. For example, in one known example in which a virtual tape server (VTS) is used, an end user checks, using a GUI utilizing a Web browser as a management tool, for example, whether an overall system operates. In contrast, a professional engineer checks, using a dedicated tool utilizing a command line as a management tool, for example, whether each module, such as an HDD, malfunctions.
In such a system, an end-user-oriented system management tool inquires about the states of individual modules on an individual basis, and summarizes results of the inquiries, thereby realizing management of the system. In one known example there is a configuration, in which a Web server of a system that is a management target inquires, of individual modules included in the system that is a management target, the states of the modules, in which the Web server acquires results of inquiry, and in which the Web server displays the results as a GUI. The configuration is used in, for example, a management interface of a VTS.
Methods in which the end-user-oriented management tool inquires about and displays the states of individual modules include the following.
(a) In response to a request from a user, the end-user-oriented management tool makes real-time inquiries about the states of the modules, and displays either the states or information concerning the states.
(b) Asynchronously with a request from a user, the end-user-oriented management tool inquires about the states of modules and temporarily stores (caches) either the states or information concerning the states, and the management tool calls and displays the cached information later.
In the method of (a), when inquires about the states of individual modules are successively made, the loads imposed on the modules temporarily increase. Consequently, the load imposed on the system temporarily increases, and there is a problem that this negatively influences an essential operation of the system (for example, an I/O process for inputting/outputting from a host). Furthermore, in the method of (b), because the cached information is updated when an essential operation of the system is not so often performed, the cached information can be updated without influencing the essential operation of the system. However, there is a problem that, when operations of the system are continuously performed, the information is not often updated.
Additional details of known systems are disclosed in Japan Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-057568 and Japan Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-015972.
Thus, it would be advantageous to solve/reduce problems in the above-described case where an end-user-oriented management tool is used. More specifically, it would be advantageous to acquire and display, with an end-user-oriented management tool, the latest operation states of individual modules included in a system, without imposing extra negative influence on essential operations of the system.